It was Dr Mukul Sangma who at a conference on Aquaculture first spoke of “denatured” fish. That word caught
the attention of the audience and some media persons. Since then attempts have been made by The Shillong Times to find out more about denatured fish by trying to get at the root of the matter so that people are better informed about the kind of fish they are eating and whether it is worth paying the price for that fish.
Meghalaya gets the bulk of its fish from Andhra Pradesh. It takes at least one week for a truck loaded with fish to reach Meghalaya. Even though the fish is packed with ice, the ice melts and fish reaches a point of natural degeneration.
Recently a correspondent of The Shillong Times attended a conference organised by the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE) for a briefing on toxins in food, held at New Delhi. It was in that conference that Sunita Narain, Secretary General, CSE informed journalists that Uncle Chips and Lays contained more trans-fat then they had declared.
In the same conference Dr V Prakash, former director, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) Mysore and a scientist of eminence who was also one of the resource persons spoke to this correspondent on the meaning of “denatured” fish.
Dr Prakash highlighted that ‘denatured’ fish is depleted of Omega 6 fatty acids which is the principal reason why people eat fish. He said that when fish is picked up from the ponds and packed with ice into thermacol boxes, they pass through a range of temperatures before reaching their destination.
During this long journey of 7-10 days, two proteins in the fish which on their own provide all the necessary nutrients, begin instead to merge. They are actin and myocin and they get entangled to reduce fish to something not just tasteless but also devoid of proteins. In fresh fish these two proteins are not entangled. Once the actin and myocin are entangled they cannot unwind.
If the process of freezing the fish is scientific and hygienic the proteins may not be depleted as they are in fish that is sent by the hundreds of kilograms by unscientific methods. “The best way to test if fish still contains the proteins or is completely denatured is to analyse what was packed and what has arrived. Does the fish still contain all the nutrients it had at the time of packing, is the question that consumers should ask,” Dr Prakash said.
Often the fish reared in and around ponds near farming areas could also have ingested the dreaded pesticide Endosulfan which causes severe abnormalities, Dr Prakash said. These are issues that Meghalaya should be looking at and the policy of Government should be to make this a fish sufficient state so that its people do not eat fish that has nothing at all and could even be toxic for those who consume it. (ST)